Don’t hold your breath for the House to move swiftly on new cryptocurrency laws and regulations if one of the most senior House Republicans has his way.
Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), the majority whip, spoke out in a post on X after federal officials announced a settlement and historic fine on Tuesday with Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, that will see it booted from the U.S. amid allegations it helped terrorist networks like Hamas.
“Congress does not need to rewrite laws that work in the crypto space. Yesterday’s successful prosecution shows that when enforced, current laws are suitable to help weed out bad actors,” Emmer said.
Emmer, who came up short in his bid for the speakership just last month, added: “Congressional resources should instead be spent working to bring more crypto activity and opportunities onshore to bolster U.S. national security.”
Democrats, of course, see the situation quite differently. They argue that Congress must step in to the still-evolving space with new enforcement authorities and clearer regulatory direction.
“Law enforcement and national security officials need additional authorities and resources to pursue money laundering, sanctions evasion, & criminal activity facilitated through crypto,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) wrote in her own post after the Binance settlement.
Warren has led bipartisan legislationthat would crack down on the use of crypto in criminal activities, such as drug trafficking and money laundering.
